The idea, you might remember, was that moving the Florida primary forward would make it more relevant. It's not a bad idea, frankly, since in most years, a single candidate would have asserted him or herself by now. And indeed, that has happened in the Republican party, with John McCain looking like he's going to be the victim in November.

Side question--do you think he'll resign from the Senate before the election a la Bob Dole, or will he wait until after he's taken a beating? Or will he hang around afterward, like John Kerry, only older?

Anyway, here's the point.

Which brings us to the Law of Unintended Consequences. If Florida's primary was upcoming on March 11th, the nation's eyes would be focused on Florida (and Texas, a week earlier) as the real tipping point for the nominees, the “king-maker.” Instead, Florida is just an also-ran.

Yep. We had our chance to be the state that put someone over the top. We had our chance to host debates, to be overwhelmed with mailers and television commercials, to get that sweet political candy, and we tossed it away.

Still, I remain sanguine about it all. I think this problem with states wanting to move up and be part of the decision making process has made the current system untenable, and we'll get some reform out of it. We're not likely to have two evenly matched candidates like these again, and that's what it takes to get an extended primary season. So it's something, and I'll take what I can get.